Teaching is a profession in which you need to know your surroundings before you begin. You need to research the community, district, and specific school that you wish to be work in. However, you don't always wind up in the school you want to work in, so it's good to know the entire district and surrounding districts you'll be working in. Characteristics such as teacher qualification, state funding, or the make-up of students are all important aspects to research before entering the work force. It's good to know what you're getting into before you begin teaching so you realize that you've chosen the wrong district and have to start over from square one.
Westerly is a very "Italian", conservative, and close-knit community and therefore sometimes proves difficult to find a teaching job. However, it is a diamond in the rough, once you do your research and prepare yourself for what lies ahead you will be greatly rewarded.
NICE INTRO. PROBABLY SHOULD COMBINE TWO PARAGRAPHS, SINCE YOUR SENTENCES ABOUT THE SCHOOL ARE OUT THERE BY ITSELF.
REFERENCES SHOULD ALL BE PLACED IN THE REFERENCE SECTION.
The town of Westerly is in a suburban setting, there is farmland as well as a busy downtown area. Because this town is located on the (???? COAST??? ) , the population 21,826 person population increases, creating a very different demographic. This report however is based solely on the year round population and its characteristics. Westerly is a generally safe town, on a scale of 1 -10 (with 10 as the highest) the violent (murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) crime rate is 3 which is equal to the U.S. violent crime rate CITATION?. However, while the U.S's property crime rate remains at a 3, Westerly's raises to a 5 CITATION?. The average age of citizens in Westerly is 40.5 years of age with 53.69% of them married and 8.79% divorced CITATION. Of the married couples, 20.54% have children and 7.89% of the singles in Westerly also have children, making the average household size is 2.33 people CITATION. There is very little diversity in Westerly with 93.63% of the population claiming to be White, 0.71% Black, 2.81% Asian, 0.55% Native American, and 1.57% claiming to be "other." CITATION
The per capita income of Westerly residents, including children and adults is $27,669. The income per household however is $51,139 per year IS THIS HIGH OR LOW?. The job market is on the rise and is therefore little unemployment; (???) about %3.6 which is 1.2% lower than the U.S. unemployment rate. 25% of these residents who are 25 years and older have a bachelor's degree or advanced college degree. IS THIS HIGH OR LOW?
Overall, the community is very involved with its school district. Every year, there is a eductaion (SIC) fair held in the middle of the town to display what students of all ages are learning and doing in and out of their classrooms . Westerly Is Learning displays projects that students have prepared, student based performances, or even allow people to talk with some of the high school's successful athletic teams. People of all ages throughout the town come out to support local schools and students.CITATION?
In the Westerly School District there are 7 schools including 4 elementary, 1 middle, and 1 high school. Within this district there are 347 teachers which is 60 teachers more than the state average. The student teacher ratio 11.6 students to every 1 teacher. In the special education program is very good in this district. There are almost enough specialists to have 1 on 1 with every student in the program. IN SPECIAL ED? The distrect SIC director not only knows the name of every student in her program but also the family of every child. However, the state and/or country is changing how the program is run which can only lead to a negative outcome such as less IEPs and less assistant attention per child. Poor state funding is also contributing to this change in the special education program CITATION?.
The state funding is $8,824,000 and decreasing, which is the source of many problems in the Westery school district. The transportation is one of the biggest problems CITATIO?. Some students have to wait an hour for a bus ride home. Not only that but the district does not have the capacity to host vocational programs so they are forced to transport (which ia already tight on budget and schedule) students to the neighboring district, Chariho.
On a more positive note, the curriculum used in the district is found to be very effective by teachers. They now use a program called "Investigations" that is being upgraded by the NCLB Act to be more rigorous and encompass more skills that the kids will need in the future. The teacher qualifications have also just been upgraded so non-tenured teacher are evaluated more per year to gain more feedback for the future. They now have 4 evaluations per year; "pop" (unannounced) evaluations, 1 "live" (announced) evaluation, and 1 taped evaluation in which the teacher tapes him/herself giving a lesson. Teachers are also given a new option instead of going back for their masters degree within 5 years CITATION?. They now have to finish an "iplan" (taken from the state of Connecticut) where they are given 5 years to keep a log of and achieve 3 self-administered educational goals CITATION? .
IF A TEACHER TOLD YOU ABOUT THE CURRICULUM, THEN YOU WOULD CITE THAT IN THE PARAGRAPH AS "(ANONYMOUS TEACHER, 2007)
State Street School was first built as an oveflow SIC school to keep kids until the core elementary schools were enlarged. However, so many people were happy with the outcome of the school, that they kept it as a regular elementary school. Due to this, the student to teacher ratio is still slightly lower than the state's as well as the district's at 9 students to every teacher CITATION?. TRY NOT TO START SENTENCES WITH NUMBERS. 90% of those students are White, 4% are Black, 4% are Asian, and 2% are of another ethnicity. Only 1% of these students are receiving ESL/bilingual eduational SIC while 5.7% of students across the state are recieving language services.
No matter the ethnicity or economic backround (SIC) of the students, in my experience, the students were very well behaved. The school uses "Swell Cards" which, if accumulation allows, can be used for a second recess, and works well to encourage good behavior. If a child did raise a problem it was dealt with in a timely and well fashioned manner. Not only that, but I as well as teachers, have found SSS to be safer and more health aware than other elementary schools in the district and state (THIS COULD BE CONFIRMED USING INFOWORKS DATA).
The students of SSS received scores slighlty below the state standards in writing, similar to state standards in reading, and slightly above state standards in math. Overall, the school has been classified as a high performing school. According to a present teacher, the the curriculum being used now ("Investigations") is good but becoming more rigorous and encompassing more skills students will use in the future due to the NCLB Act. The most predominant problem in the school is the lack of funding. Many teachers and parents would like to see more after school programs for things such as preparing students for big tests, but there isn't enough money to support the program or pay for transportation.
Conclusion
Though this community, district, and school offers very little diversity and is relatively safe, it does not mean that it will make for an easy teaching career. Westerly offers its own challenges which are unique to its inhabitants and surroundings. Because State Street School and most of the schools in the district are somewhat small, as a teacher you will be able to build many lasting relationships with the students and maybe even give each of them a little more individualized education.
5 - Intro provides an overview of the upcoming analysis, including what school/district/community is being analyzed, what aspects are being analyzed, and who the report is intended to inform.
4 - Intro names the school/district/community and previews the scope of the report, but does not describe who the report is intended to inform.
3 - Intro names the school/district/community but not much else.
2 - Intro fails to name the school, district, and community.
0 - No introduction section is apparent.
Constructive comments about report's introduction:
Organization = 4/ 5 pts.
5 - Report includes an Introduction, a Conclusion, and sections for the School, District, and Community. Within each section, paragraphs logically group the information presented.
4 - Report includes all of the sections mentioned previously, but does not break down information into paragraphs within each section.
3 - Report is missing one of the sections.
2 - Report is missing more than one section.
0 - Report does not include any sections.
Strengths and constructive comments about report's organization:
Mechanics = 5 / 5 pts.
5 - All information in the report is cited using APA styled- citations after the information and in a Reference section at the end of the report.
and
There are extremely few typos and misspelled words in the report.
4 - Most information is cited using APA style.
and/or
There are a noticeable number of typos or misspellings.
3 - Some citations in the References section are not in APA style, e.g. URLs are listed without the title of the website.
and/or
There are many typos, misspellings, or other writing errors.
2 - Most of the report's information is not cited, or APA style was not used.
0 - Report does not include a Reference section.
MOST STATEMENTS NOT CITED
Conclusion = 4 / 5 pts.
5 - Conclusion reviews analysis of school, district and community and describes why findings should be important to reader.
4 - Conclusion reviews analysis of school, district and community.
3 - Conclusion does not refer back to report findings.
0 - No conclusion section is apparent.
Strengths and constructive comments about conclusion:
Creativity = 4 / 5 pts.
5 - Report is written in an engaging style.
4 - Report has some interesting sections.
3 - Report generally reports information without seemingly without purpose.
NICE USE OF INTERVIEW DATA, NOW NEED OTHER SOURCES.
Thoroughness = 7/10 pts
5 - Report includes at least ten different facts in each section (school, community, district) and
compares each figure with another relevant figure (e.g. state or national average) and
states whether or not the school is meeting NCLB standards.
4 - Report includes at least eight different facts in each section and
compares most figures with relevant values and
states whether or not the school is meeting NCLB standards.
3 - Report includes at least six different facts in each section and
compares some of the figures to other relevant figures
2 - Report includes at least four different facts in each section and
compares some of the figures to other relevant figures.
0 - Report includes less than four different facts for any section or
fails to compare any figures with other relevant figures.
State Street Elementary School
Introduction
Teaching is a profession in which you need to know your surroundings before you begin. You need to research the community, district, and specific school that you wish to be work in. However, you don't always wind up in the school you want to work in, so it's good to know the entire district and surrounding districts you'll be working in. Characteristics such as teacher qualification, state funding, or the make-up of students are all important aspects to research before entering the work force. It's good to know what you're getting into before you begin teaching so you realize that you've chosen the wrong district and have to start over from square one.Westerly is a very "Italian", conservative, and close-knit community and therefore sometimes proves difficult to find a teaching job. However, it is a diamond in the rough, once you do your research and prepare yourself for what lies ahead you will be greatly rewarded.
NICE INTRO. PROBABLY SHOULD COMBINE TWO PARAGRAPHS, SINCE YOUR SENTENCES ABOUT THE SCHOOL ARE OUT THERE BY ITSELF.
Community Background
((2007). Sperling's BestPlaces. Retrieved October 8, 2007, Web site: http://www.bestplacess.net/zip-code/Westerly_RI-70289100020.aspx%3E.|http://www.bestplacess.net/zip-code/Westerly_RI-70289100020.aspx)((2007, Sept. 27). Municipal Website for Westerly. Retrieved October 5, 2007, Web site: http://westerly.govoffice.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={64E09469-6C72-4908-A143-F9649C927A45})
REFERENCES SHOULD ALL BE PLACED IN THE REFERENCE SECTION.
The town of Westerly is in a suburban setting, there is farmland as well as a busy downtown area. Because this town is located on the (???? COAST??? ) , the population 21,826 person population increases, creating a very different demographic. This report however is based solely on the year round population and its characteristics. Westerly is a generally safe town, on a scale of 1 -10 (with 10 as the highest) the violent (murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) crime rate is 3 which is equal to the U.S. violent crime rate CITATION?. However, while the U.S's property crime rate remains at a 3, Westerly's raises to a 5 CITATION?. The average age of citizens in Westerly is 40.5 years of age with 53.69% of them married and 8.79% divorced CITATION. Of the married couples, 20.54% have children and 7.89% of the singles in Westerly also have children, making the average household size is 2.33 people CITATION. There is very little diversity in Westerly with 93.63% of the population claiming to be White, 0.71% Black, 2.81% Asian, 0.55% Native American, and 1.57% claiming to be "other." CITATION
The per capita income of Westerly residents, including children and adults is $27,669. The income per household however is $51,139 per year IS THIS HIGH OR LOW?. The job market is on the rise and is therefore little unemployment; (???) about %3.6 which is 1.2% lower than the U.S. unemployment rate. 25% of these residents who are 25 years and older have a bachelor's degree or advanced college degree. IS THIS HIGH OR LOW?
Overall, the community is very involved with its school district. Every year, there is a eductaion (SIC) fair held in the middle of the town to display what students of all ages are learning and doing in and out of their classrooms . Westerly Is Learning displays projects that students have prepared, student based performances, or even allow people to talk with some of the high school's successful athletic teams. People of all ages throughout the town come out to support local schools and students.CITATION?
District Summary
(Teacher Anonymous, personal communication, September 30, 2007)((2007). Retrieved October 6, 2007, Web site: http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch/district_detail.asp?start=0&ID2=4401170)
In the Westerly School District there are 7 schools including 4 elementary, 1 middle, and 1 high school. Within this district there are 347 teachers which is 60 teachers more than the state average. The student teacher ratio 11.6 students to every 1 teacher. In the special education program is very good in this district. There are almost enough specialists to have 1 on 1 with every student in the program. IN SPECIAL ED? The distrect SIC director not only knows the name of every student in her program but also the family of every child. However, the state and/or country is changing how the program is run which can only lead to a negative outcome such as less IEPs and less assistant attention per child. Poor state funding is also contributing to this change in the special education program CITATION?.
The state funding is $8,824,000 and decreasing, which is the source of many problems in the Westery school district. The transportation is one of the biggest problems CITATIO?. Some students have to wait an hour for a bus ride home. Not only that but the district does not have the capacity to host vocational programs so they are forced to transport (which ia already tight on budget and schedule) students to the neighboring district, Chariho.
On a more positive note, the curriculum used in the district is found to be very effective by teachers. They now use a program called "Investigations" that is being upgraded by the NCLB Act to be more rigorous and encompass more skills that the kids will need in the future. The teacher qualifications have also just been upgraded so non-tenured teacher are evaluated more per year to gain more feedback for the future. They now have 4 evaluations per year; "pop" (unannounced) evaluations, 1 "live" (announced) evaluation, and 1 taped evaluation in which the teacher tapes him/herself giving a lesson. Teachers are also given a new option instead of going back for their masters degree within 5 years CITATION?. They now have to finish an "iplan" (taken from the state of Connecticut) where they are given 5 years to keep a log of and achieve 3 self-administered educational goals CITATION? .
IF A TEACHER TOLD YOU ABOUT THE CURRICULUM, THEN YOU WOULD CITE THAT IN THE PARAGRAPH AS "(ANONYMOUS TEACHER, 2007)
School Analysis
(Teacher Anonymous, personal communication, September 30, 2007)((2007). Information That Works. Retrieved October 7, 2007, from State Street Elementary Web site: http://infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2007/queries/FindSch.asp)
State Street School was first built as an oveflow SIC school to keep kids until the core elementary schools were enlarged. However, so many people were happy with the outcome of the school, that they kept it as a regular elementary school. Due to this, the student to teacher ratio is still slightly lower than the state's as well as the district's at 9 students to every teacher CITATION?. TRY NOT TO START SENTENCES WITH NUMBERS. 90% of those students are White, 4% are Black, 4% are Asian, and 2% are of another ethnicity. Only 1% of these students are receiving ESL/bilingual eduational SIC while 5.7% of students across the state are recieving language services.
No matter the ethnicity or economic backround (SIC) of the students, in my experience, the students were very well behaved. The school uses "Swell Cards" which, if accumulation allows, can be used for a second recess, and works well to encourage good behavior. If a child did raise a problem it was dealt with in a timely and well fashioned manner. Not only that, but I as well as teachers, have found SSS to be safer and more health aware than other elementary schools in the district and state (THIS COULD BE CONFIRMED USING INFOWORKS DATA).
The students of SSS received scores slighlty below the state standards in writing, similar to state standards in reading, and slightly above state standards in math. Overall, the school has been classified as a high performing school. According to a present teacher, the the curriculum being used now ("Investigations") is good but becoming more rigorous and encompassing more skills students will use in the future due to the NCLB Act. The most predominant problem in the school is the lack of funding. Many teachers and parents would like to see more after school programs for things such as preparing students for big tests, but there isn't enough money to support the program or pay for transportation.
Conclusion
Though this community, district, and school offers very little diversity and is relatively safe, it does not mean that it will make for an easy teaching career. Westerly offers its own challenges which are unique to its inhabitants and surroundings. Because State Street School and most of the schools in the district are somewhat small, as a teacher you will be able to build many lasting relationships with the students and maybe even give each of them a little more individualized education.References
Peer Edit 1
Evaluation / Feedback for EDC 102 Context Statement
Total Score for this Evaluation: 29 /35 pts
REVISION FEEDBACK:
- HOTLINKS SUBTRACTED, CITATIONS ADDED.
- LITTLE EVIDENCE ADDED.
Rubric
Introduction = 5 / 5 pts.
Organization = 4/ 5 pts.
Mechanics = 5 / 5 pts.
and
There are extremely few typos and misspelled words in the report.
and/or
There are a noticeable number of typos or misspellings.
and/or
There are many typos, misspellings, or other writing errors.
Conclusion = 4 / 5 pts.
Creativity = 4 / 5 pts.
Thoroughness = 7/10 pts
compares each figure with another relevant figure (e.g. state or national average) and
states whether or not the school is meeting NCLB standards.
compares most figures with relevant values and
states whether or not the school is meeting NCLB standards.
compares some of the figures to other relevant figures
compares some of the figures to other relevant figures.
fails to compare any figures with other relevant figures.